Get Involved

Student Groups (The GSC Affiliate Program)

The GSC’s Affiliate Program offers applications for advising of a group by GSC staff, as well as use of the GSC conference room to host Affiliate group meetings and programs. These groups are officially associated with the GSC are listed on this page: Student Groups.

If your group would like to apply to be a GSC Affiliate, please submit this application.

Peers for Pride (PfP) is a peer facilitation program of the Gender and Sexuality Center. Students will take two courses during the academic year in partnership with the Gender for Women’s Gender Studies. Courses will count for a total of six hours of upper-division credit in Women’s and Gender Studies (WGS), Social Work (S W), or Theatre and Dance (T D). Additionally, students will receive credit for Cultural Diversity in the United States, and Ethics course flag requirements.

Fall: WGS 335-1, S W 360K, or T D 357T

Spring: WGS 335-2, S W 360K, or T D 357T

In these classes, students learn theater techniques and facilitation skills that enable them to conduct workshops that explore the lives of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people. The facilitators develop activating scenes, build workshops around these scenes, and facilitate these workshops across campus in dorms, with student organizations, in classes, and in open workshops.

Members of the “Peers for Pride” program are required to take one class in the fall semester and one in the spring semester. During the fall semester course, “Confronting LGBTQIA+ Oppression: Exploring the Issues and Learning the Skills to Communicate Them,” students learn basic facilitation skills while taking an in-depth look at some issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals. During the spring semester course, “Facilitating Dialogues on LGBTQIA+ Oppression: Peers for Pride in Action,” peer facilitators have the opportunity to fine-tune their facilitation skills and lead workshops across campus. Participants are required to make a two-semester commitment to the program.

To Apply: please fill out this online application and someone will contact you in 1-3 business day. Interested students must complete an application and an interview with the program staff.

GSC Email List

Are you on the mailing list? The GSC has a listserv that tells you everything you need to know. Well … almost. We send out one weekly email that posts notices of events, scholarships, pertinent news items and meetings. To join the listserv, please subscribe in the panel on the side of this page or send us an email requesting to be on the list.

Lending Library

We have a large collection of literature in the GSC. We have books, magazines, videotapes and DVDs that are available to be checked out. We welcome suggestions for new books or movies – just contact us and let us know what you’d be interested in. We are always looking to expand our library, so if you have literature or related materials you would like to donate, please stop by our office.

Mentor Program

This program connects first year and transfer LGBTQIA+ and Women & Feminist students with University of Texas faculty and staff. Through the program, students gain the support and validation of faculty and staff. The formal mentor-mentee relationship lasts one academic year; however, many mentors and mentees maintain contact with one another well past the one-year mark.

The Mentor Program will begin accepting new mentee applications for incoming students in Summer 2019.

GSC Internship Program

The GSC accepts interns (Graduate and Undergraduate students) to assist us with a variety of projects for course credit or personal enrichment. Find the application here. Feel free to email us if you have questions at gsc@austin.utexas.edu.

Events in the GSC

We host a variety of events each semester! Check out our calendar or facebook for specific dates and times.

Weekly Events

Queer Voices Discussion Group

This discussion group meets weekly in the GSC throughout the semester. They are not therapy groups but rather opportunities for students to connect and engage in authentic, respectful exploration of topics relevant to their experiences as queer students on UT’s campus. Your privacy will be respected. Interested students can drop in at any meeting. Contact the group facilitators with questions or to receive reminder emails.

Finding Our Voice: Women of Color Discussion Group

This discussion group meets weekly in the GSC throughout the semester. They are not therapy groups but rather opportunities for students to connect and engage in authentic, respectful exploration of topics relevant to their experiences as women of color on UT’s campus. Your privacy will be respected. Interested students can drop in at any meeting. Contact the group facilitators with questions or to receive reminder emails.

Trans Thursdays

This weekly group is meant for all students who don’t identify as cisgender, including genderqueer, transgender, non-binary, two spirit, fluid folks, etc. We chat, laugh, cry, heal and build community! Each week we have open discussion around a theme, such as: What makes us proud?; Navigating UT; Decolonizing Gender; etc. Join us every Thursday from 12-1pm in the GSC Conference Room.

Feminist Friday

This weekly event is a space to put theory into practice. Open discussion is engaged around a specific theme each week. Also, it’s a great way to connect with other feminists on campus. Some past topics include: Music Videos, “the b word,” Gamergate, Street Harassment, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Politics of Black Women’s Hair, Getting Called Out, Men’s Role in Feminism, Not Seeing the Ocean for All the “Waves”: Reframing Mainstream Feminist Herstory, Feminism and Information: Access, Archives, and Activism in Today’s Digital Age, and panels on intersectionality, graduate school, and other topics. Join us every Friday from 1-2pm in the GSC.

Recurring Events

Knowledge and Noms

This program combines delicious snacks with guest speakers and representatives from on and off campus organizations. These events are casual and informative, with topics ranging from stress management to scholarship writing and advice. With this series, the GSC aims to give students practical knowledge about the resources that are available to them at UT and beyond, to facilitate open discussions about social justice and feminism, to demystify faculty and staff so that students are more comfortable approaching them outside the classroom, and to engage students who might not otherwise have come to the GSC. Find the next Knowledge and Noms event on the GSC Calendar.

Living With Pride

Going home for the holidays? Thinking about coming out? Wondering if it’s the right time? Join us in the GSC for panel of folks who have gone through it, discussion, tips, and questions to help you make the best decision for you! Past topics include: Spirituality and Sexuality, Coming out for the Holidays, Allies Across the Alphabet, Out at Work, Gay for Pay, Careers in LGBTQIA+ Advocacy.Find the next Living With Pride event on the GSC Calendar.

Annual Events

Lavender Graduation

Lavender Graduation is a special graduation ceremony that honors the achievements of graduating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and ally students on campus. Lavender Graduation is co-hosted by the Gender and Sexuality Center and the UT Queer Students Alliance (QSA). Our goal is to provide a venue to demonstrate the success of our community members in a personal, entertaining and celebratory way. The Lavender Graduation Ceremony includes: Exhilarating speeches from UT faculty, administrators, students, and alumni; the chance to cross the lavender stage to celebrate your success and to receive a Lavender Graduation certificate as well as a rainbow tassel; and music, cake and food to share with friends, family and well-wishers! Find more information here.

National Young Women’s Day of Action (NYWDOA)

This event is a day (typically in October) dedicated to the political activism of young women. NYWDA is organized for young women by young women, with the aim to encourage local political involvement, and at the same time, provide a forum for raising general awareness about issues that range from reproductive rights, to gender, sexual, and racial equality (find more information here). Each year, in observance of NYWDA, we bring a feminist speaker to campus for a luncheon and Q&A. Past speakers include: Mia McKenzie (Black Girl Dangerous), Lindy West, Andrea Pino, Cristina Tzintzún, and Tatyana Fazlalizadeh. Find the date of the National Young Women’s Day of Action Luncheon on the GSC Calendar.

Feminist Action Project Conference

The GSC’s founding Director, Ixchel Rosal, taught a course on Third Wave Feminism on the UT campus. As a follow-up to that class, the Feminist Action Project was founded as a student organization in the GSC in 2009. Feminist Action Project organized their first conference in 2010 entitled, “Examining Intersections, Building Alliances”, and featuring keynote speaker Jehmu Greene, president of the Women’s Media Center. The vision of the conference was to create space in which feminists can meet, network, and workshop ideas for Feminist activism. The event was held over three days and contained lectures, panels, and workshops. Past keynotes include: Jehmu Greene, Loretta Ross, Marianne Kirby, Kim Crosby, Sharon Bridgeforth, and Feminista Jones. Find the dates of this year’s conference on the GSC Calendar.

Gender Performance Workshop

This program gives participants a safe setting to try on different gender expressions. Wigs, facial hair, heels, and suspenders are just a few things participants will find in the pile of gender props. Find the next Gender Performance Workshop on the GSC Calendar.